DENVER, Colo. — Colorado joined 22 other states in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Secretary Brooke Rollins for suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the government shutdown.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser made the announcement in a Tuesday press release.
The lawsuit argues the USDA acted illegally by halting food assistance despite having access to contingency funds.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced it would not use the more than $5 billion in emergency funding the USDA maintains to cover the program, arguing the funds are “not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”
In an interview with Scripps News, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins reiterated that her department does not have enough to cover the more than $9 billion needed to cover the cost of SNAP benefits once funds run out.
"Here's the bottom line, we have been saying now for almost a month that as of November 1, we will not have the $9.2 billion available that will be required for the entire month of November," Rollins said. "And the way that the formulas and the math works, that is an unequivocal, sort of uncontested number. We don't have the funding that is needed to keep the SNAP program going through November."
The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) announced last week that SNAP benefits, which over 600,000 Coloradans receive, for the month of November are on hold until he federal government restores funding.
Advocates warn that a lapse will worsen food insecurity, strain local resources, and harm economic activity.
Weiser said Colorado and other states will file a temporary restraining order later Tuesday, seeking an immediate restoration of benefits.
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